EMPOWERING WOMEN

One Class at a Time

The Time is Now…

WE BELIEVE IN CHANGE

We are at a critical time in the fight for gender equality across a multitude of issues, including the ones we are combating at Streetwise Self Defense. We believe that while society should speak out against accused sexual predators like Harvey Weinstein, James Toback – also in the entertainment industry, Chris Savino at Nickelodeon, Celebrity Chef John Besh, and Mark Halperin while at ABC News, we can not going to rely on that to keep women safe from sexual harassment, manipulation, and a wide range of abuses right up to and including rape.

In order for change to occur though, we need to stand up to that behavior individually and as a group, so that it cannot continue to persist in the shadows, and we need to learn to fight back. In doing so, we will reinforce the message that this is indeed a crime, and that it is safe for survivors to come forward to tell their story, and report these crimes.

As a note, I use the terms Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault, Rape, Stalking, and Abduction/Kidnapping as an inclusive way of describing a wide range of sexually oriented crimes committed against male and female children, a relatively smaller group of young adult and adult men, and a much larger group of young adult and adult women of all ages. These crimes range from endangerment to assault/battery, to rape, to forced abduction and imprisonment.

The motivations behind these crimes vary, and while I agree that rape against adults most often is driven by anger and a desire to control and humiliate the victim for whatever reason, I believe that sexual crimes against children are often motivated by deviant sexual desire.

I believe we as a society can best reduce the number of victimizations by continuing to encourage and support the survivors who are stepping forward to tell their stories, and by developing are own awareness of the indicators sexual harassment, our attitudes about not tolerating that behavior against ourselves or our friends/colleagues, as well as developing our preparation to fight back, physically and emotionally.

1 Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Crime Victimization Survey, 2010-2014 (2015).2 Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement (2000).

EVERY CLASS COUNTS

Won’t you join us at one of our regularly scheduled public or private classes? You can find more information about dates, times, and registration on the Training Opportunities Page. Even if you have been to a class already, we are always learning and improving our techniques and teaching methodologies, so not only will you get the chance to refresh your memory, but you may learn something new!

Share This Post

HELP EMPOWER A LIFE TODAY!

Empowering someone else is one of the most rewarding feelings in life, just as realizing you have strengths and abilities that you didn’t know about… This is really what drives my passion to continually improve my self defense classes. It has been just over 3 years now that we’ve been putting on self defense classes in the Treasure Valley, with the cooperation of Boise’s Downtown YMCA, as well asEagle Parks & Recreation.